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During this Global Entrepreneurship Week, CIPE celebrates Karolo Perez Vigil, a young Peruvian entrepreneur and a graduate of CIPE’s EmprendeAhora program.

Karolo and his teammates received first prize in the capstone EmprendeAhora business plan contest for their idea for a bio tourism venture in the San Martín region of Peru.

Karolo leveraged the success of his company, BioAdventure, to create a larger enterprise, Selva Constructor. With over $304,000 in revenue, Selva provides work for eight employees in its headquarters and on average 60 laborers on construction sites.

Previous Articles

With the exception of information on financial barriers to growth, there is a considerable dearth of theoretical and empirical knowledge of entrepreneurship in Egypt and Tunisia and throughout the MENA region.

This research effort aims to produce empirical knowledge as well as critique the conceptualizations already developed for entrepreneurship in MENA and the developing world in general.

Given the structural and institutional constraints in the region, a comprehensive concept of entrepreneurship should tackle the overall ecosystem within which individual entrepreneurs and enterprises operate and examine where they interact with the regulatory, legal, and institutional frameworks.

These three articles were the first, second, and third place winners in the Innovation category of CIPE's 2012 Youth Essay Contest.

Social Transformations: The Role of Entrepreneurs in Building Democratic Societies by Todor Raykov

Article at a glance

Following the difficult transition from communism to democracy, entrepreneurship is the most promising way to revive Bulgaria’s faltering economy.

In Bulgaria, there is a negative connotation for entrepreneurship as many of the communist elite transformed into corrupt “entrepreneurs” post-transition. Additionally, Bulgaria faces high levels of “brain drain.” However, in recent years, the Bulgarian government has been trying to inspire a new wave of entrepreneurship with little success.

In order to combat these problems, Bulgarian youth need better education along with with better job opportunities and a more welcoming environment for entrepreneurs.

In Russia, there are many challenges to startups, such as a resistance to embracing technological careers by young people and universities, a desire to turn a profit quickly, a fear of failure, and a lack of knowledge or confidence in startups both by potential entrepreneurs and the market.

Few young people translate their ideas to action because of risk mitigation, inexperience in innovation, and a cultural mindset in Russia to make do with what is provided, not rock the boat, and work for the collective (not private) good.

Russia needs an entrepreneur ecosystem made up of investors, press and education, and young people supporting each other in their work.

Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Malawi: Beyond Just Technology by Jones Cecil Ntaukira

Article at a glance

In Malawi, as in much of Africa, there are severe limitations placed on entrepreneurs due to the struggling economy. However, this should not prevent entrepreneurs from achieving their goals which contribute to innovative growth.

Young people are the key to driving Malawi’s development, as they are the most likely to create innovative business plans. However, there are many challenges facing young entrepreneurs in Malawi, such as weak intellectual property rights, financial barriers to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), a lack of access to international markets, and a lack of business knowhow.

In order to improve the situation for young entrepreneurs, mentorship and training programs in business startup skills should be created; intellectual property rights should be improved; the business registration process and taxes of SMEs should be reformed; the information and communication technology infrastructure should be improved; and the financial institutions should be more open to young entrepreneurs.

The new dynamic between entrepreneurs and earnest governments will help transform the entrepreneurship ecosystem and support the scaling of new high-growth firms across the planet.

Policymakers are looking to the global stage for ideas and expertise, seeking best practices and bridges to other nations that are successfully nurturing entrepreneurship ecosystems.

Through its Global Entrepreneurship initiatives, the Kauffman Foundation works to support entrepreneurs and help connect all stakeholders in the entrepreneurship ecosystem, including those involved in top-down policy efforts as well as the bottom-up startup communities.

These three articles were the first, second, and third place winners in the Inclusive Growth category of CIPE's 2012 Youth Essay Contest.

Promoting Inclusive Growth: the Entrepreneurial Environment for scaling up business in Ghana by Obed Ankrah

Article at a glance

Youth-led businesses in Ghana face a number of challenges that hinder business expansion, including lack of access to finance, restrictive cultural norms, and lack of managerial and leadership skills.

Given Ghana’s economic rise, however, youth-led businesses and entrepreneurs have the opportunity to learn from successful entrepreneurs and receive entrepreneurial training from universities.

In order to encourage more youth to become entrepreneurs instead of entering the public sector, the government should implement reforms that create a small enterprise-friendly environment.

Turning Opportunities into Results by Anna Grishkina

Article at a glance

The youth entrepreneurship community is skyrocketing in Russia, but it is neither recognized nor acknowledged by the larger public.

The opportunities for improving youth-led businesses in Russia are slowly increasing with the development of youth business associations, and the growing number of social institutions supporting youth entrepreneurs.

Youth and Entrepreneurship in Nigeria: The Way Forward by Ngutor Saaka

Article at a glance

In Nigeria, the government is often blamed for the high unemployment rate amongyouth. However, instead of focusing on what the government can do, youth should focus on how entrepreneurship and the private sector can resolve unemployment.

Numerous impediments hinder young entrepreneurs in Nigeria from growing their businesses, including lack of access to capital, lack of mentorship, and lack of engagement with policymakers and relevant stakeholders.

In order for young entrepreneurs to scale up their businesses, they must form a unified voice by collectively advocating for better business environments for entrepreneurs.

When private businesses are interested in reducing corruption, they can be mobilized to take concrete steps against it. This article introduces available tools for collective action – a strategic approach to mobilizing the business community in order to fight corruption.

At its core, corruption is an institutional problem, and the institutional framework that sustains corruption must be changed. A key goal of collective action is to reduce the incentives and opportunities for corruption.

Collective action is a coordinated, sustained process of cooperation among private firms and other stakeholders. In the fight against corruption, a coalition of companies united by a set of principles and standards can have a far greater aggregate impact.

The views expressed by authors are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE). CIPE grants permission to reprint, translate, and/or publish original articles from its

Economic Reform Feature Service provided that (1) proper attribution is given to the original author and to CIPE and (2) CIPE is notified where the article is placed and a copy is provided to CIPE’s Washington office.

Call for Items

CIPE welcomes articles submitted by readers. Most articles run between 3-7 pages (1000-3000 words), but all submissions relevant to CIPE's mission of building accountable, democratic institutions through market-oriented reform will be considered based on merit. Economic Reform Feature Service articles are primarily geared toward an international, non-academic community of businesspeople, economic reformers, and policy-makers. Specific policy recommendations and articles based on direct experience are encouraged. In addition to articles, we are willing to adapt suitable lectures, speeches, research notes, and academic papers.